Wiltshire responds to Rosamilia’s State of the City address

TROY >> City Council President Rodney Wiltshire placed a heavy emphasis on both the city’s housing stock and its architecture during his response to Mayor Lou Rosamilia’s State of the City address.

Wiltshire, who spoke at the beginning of Thursday’s City Council Meeting, not only touched on topics including historic preservation, reigning in the city’s vacant building stock and charging higher fees for large institutions and apartment complexes, but also made some statements about public safety, voicing his support for community policing.

Wiltshire opened his speech by commenting on the environment surrounding politics, saying that public officials are susceptible to scrutiny and that politics can create enemies and, sometimes, even friends.

Still, even through all of the infighting, Wiltshire said he has tried to reach across the aisle and work with members of both parties.

“It has been my commitment and style from day one to build bridges and mend ties between all parties and representatives who hold the honor and privilege to represent all the people of the City of Troy,” Wiltshire said.

Wiltshire went on to endorse the use of a land bank to dispose of city-owned property, which would follow in the footsteps of other local municipalities such as Albany and Schenectady.

“In order for our land bank to be successful, it needs to have a diverse committee that is a mix of stakeholders, strong community and neighborhood input into how properties are acquired and released,” Wiltshire said.

Wiltshire also pushed for appointing a city historian, even going as far as suggesting author Don Rittner, who has had several writings about the history of Troy published, as the person for the job.

An issue the city has faced for some time is the number of non-taxable properties, such as churches and not-for-profit organizations, which own land in Troy. During his speech, Wiltshire proposed a plan that would include a payment in lieu of taxes, or a PILOT, program for any institution that frequently uses the city’s services.

Wiltshire also floated the idea of using Project Labor Agreements when new construction begins in the city, a suggestion that has the support of the city’s Industrial Development Authority. He said PLAs can help ensure development projects would be constructed using high quality safety standards and local workers.

“There are plenty of working class jobs which go unfilled by local workers because many of these construction jobs go to out of town or even out of state labor,” Wiltshire said. “Our local tax dollars that are meant to sustain and provide for our local economic growth should be kept right here.”